Christie?s New York auction slated for September 17, 2003, consists of two sections: There are 134 lots of antique sculptures, paintings and manuscripts and 77 lots of contemporary Indian art. If one looks at the antiquities, the majority are from Afghanistan and Tibet, a few from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal and India.

Nude by FN Souza (1964), 74.6 cm X 62.9 cm, oil on canvas. The expected price is $15,000-$20,000

Then there are some 29 miniatures of the Mughal and related schools. So, it would appear that Indian art of interest to the global collector is predominantly of the contemporary variety.

Of the Indian contemporary artists, Husain still rules the roost with nine works up for sale. The majority of them are in the $18000-$24000 (Rs 8.3 lakh to Rs 11 lakh), though the highest expected price for a Mother Theresa trypitch is $100,000, or close on Rs 47 lakh. This clearly shows that in New York, as almost anywhere where contemporary Indian art sells, Husain is truly blue-chip investment.

Close on Husain, we have two of his close collaborators of the Mumbai group, FN Souza with seven lots up for sale at between $15,000 to $20,000 (Rs 6.9 lakh to Rs 9.2 lakh) with the highest expected price being $50,000 (Rs 23 lakh) and SH Raza with six lots up for sale, generally in the range of $10,000-$15,000 (Rs 4.6 lakh to Rs 6.9 lakh).

Other artists from the Mumbai group are Tyeb Mehta with two lots up for sale, one of which is expected to fetch $40,000-$60,000 (Rs 18.4 lakh to Rs 27.6 lakh) for a work of 1967, while the other, a trypitch of 1998, is expected to go up to $90,000 (Rs 41.4 lakh).

Another artist of the same group, VS Gaitonde has a couple of works up for sale, with a major one expected to fetch a maximum of $75,000 (Rs 34.5 lakh). Clearly, the expectations from the Mumbai group?s sales are high, but not from all its artists, for fellow Mumbai painter KH Ara is expected to fetch only between $5,000-$7,000 (Rs 2.3 lakh to Rs 3.2 lakh). Akbar Padamsee with five lots up for sale with the highest price expected being $70,000 (Rs 32.2 lakh) for a Cityscape of 1959.

Then there are those artists who have their own niche of buyers like Ganesh Pyne, two of whose works are up for sale. A tempera is expected to fetch a high of $20,000 (Rs 9.2 lakh) and a pen and ink sketch expected to get a maximum of $8,000 (Rs 3.7 lakh).

Then there are works of Anjolie Ela Menon, whose highest expected price is $60,000 (Rs 27.6 lakh) for a Nativity trypitch. There are also two excellent works by Bhupen Khakkhar, both from corporate collections, and expected to fetch between $15,000 and $20,000 each (Rs 6.9 lakh to Rs 9.2 lakh).

Apart from them, the auctioneers have made forays to include artists who are well-known and being promoted by different galleries in India. Among them, we have Arpita Singh, Jehangir Sabavala, J Swaminathan, NS Bendre, Rameshwar Broota, Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna, Jogen Choudhary, Prabhakar Barwe, Vivan Sundaram, Anju Dodiya and Atul Dodiya.

The spread reflects a growing consciousness among the global auction houses of Indian contemporary art. At the same time, it is becoming obvious that really good works of blue-chip names are hard to come by. Husain has only three important works up for sale, Beneras Ghat (lot 145), a Mother Theresa trypitch (lot 160), and Her Daughter (lot 155).

There are two other lyrical tribal couple (lot 154). Both the works of Khakkhar are among his best. The Anjolie Ela Menon Nativity, the Akbar Padamsee Cityscape, SH Raza?s Terre Rouge, Gaitonde?s large red canvas, Arpita Singh?s Threat, Vivan Sundaram?s Passage, Prabhakar Barwe?s Echo, Ganesh Pyne?s Torso, Jogen Choudhary?s Private Conversation, Atul Dodiya?s The Room, and Tyeb Mehta?s Mahishasura ? Trypitch are works to delight any collector.

It is evident that Indian contemporary art has stepped confidently into five-figure dollar prices and its range and importance are being recognised by the global auction houses, too.

This is the right time for collectors to offload works bought as investments in the past and pick up those essential for completing their collections as they come up for sale. This is also the time for collectors to visit galleries and pick up works of new artists who will be good investments for the future.